After our breakfast, served daily in the lovely gardens of the hotel, we were picked up by Min and Aung and taken to a bicycle rental store in Old Bagan. We set off down the sandy trails on our bike tour. First stop was Tuang Bi village where we wandered around, poking our heads into peoples’ door yards, observing them at work – a rice noodle “factory”, farmyards, the local pub, and the village school.

We saw young novices returning from their morning food/alms collection and then tucking into some delicious looking sweet corn.Young novices collecting alms meals and then enjoying some sweet corn:

Children in grades K-8 attend the school, each with one classroom. Two of the classroom buildings were recently donated by tour agencies – something we also saw in Peru. Min lives in Tuang Bi and attended this school; he told us that several years ago he volunteered in the construction of a new water well-house and new bathrooms.

Three women were cutting their sesame crop. Evidently this year’s crop only yielded a third to quarter of what is normally grown. This year’s monsoons didn’t provide as much rain as normal.

We visited Sulamani Temple with beautiful plaster carving and painting. Pahtothamya Temple was unique in that the lighting, from the north, illuminated the Buddha in such a way that the skin tone of the face and the rest of the body was different. Shwe Gu Gyi Temple, or locally known as Palace Temple, was used as an observation point.

Ananda Temple – the most beautiful in Bagan, and one of the largest, is undergoing a major restoration project (they are in the second of five years) funded by South Korea. The temple was built in the 11th century and was originally covered in murals. Over time, the locals used lime whitewash and covered it – multiple times! They are now in the process of stripping all the whitewash using ammonia, water and scrubbing brushes; it looks amazing and many of the carvings are in very good condition despite the acidic lime eating into the sandstone.

Our final Bagan sunset was viewed from The rooftop of one of the many temples

I am so glad we ventured to Myanmar while it is still relatively undiscovered – except by the French! We didn’t encounter any other Americans, but French, Germans and Chinese.

We had different guides for each area we visited and all of them were extremely well versed in just about every aspect of life there. They could talk about the history of the region or country, the individual pagodas and temples we visited, and answer just about any question, regardless of subject, that we threw at them.

As in other SE Asian countries, the people are gentle and gracious. We were told that most crime is mostly of a domestic nature. Most people get around on motor bikes or bicycles, but there are more cars than I would have imagined – laws in the past few years have made buying cars more accessible. Most are right-hand drive, as they can buy used Japanese cars quite inexpensively.

They display great pride in their heritage and their historic temples and buildings. We were told they are the second most “giving” country in the world, despite the fact that so many have so little. They do not harass you or put pressure on you to buy, and I didn’t see one beggar.

The food was a little disappointing – not spicy at all! Except for those delicious tamarind candies from Bagan!

Bagan is an absolutely amazing place to visit and I’m glad we visited it last. The landscape with the thousands of stupas and temples is surreal.

The people appear to have an enormous respect for Aung San Suu Kyi, and call her “Our Lady”. There will be elections in 2015, and I get the sense that they would love her to win,  but are dubious about the possibility. There were several mentions of “cronies” in regard to people who have achieved success or wealth, and I didn’t get a sense there was much respect for the government.

We took to the road from Mandalay to Bagan with an overnight stop in Monywa. Driving through the countryside and villages, one can see that life has remained pretty much the same for many decades with one major exception: cell phones – everyone has them from monks to watermelon sellers! Also, since 2010 it has become easier for people to purchase cars, therefore, there are more private vehicles on the road, but still the motorcycle rules, and in rural areas buffalo carts aren’t uncommon.

This is an agrarian society, and they are blessed with fertile soil, much of which is flooded during the rainy season. Everything seems to grow here: almonds, potatoes, melons, papaya, beans, rice – you name it!

As in many other countries, it fascinates me how sections of towns or villages are designated to produce one specific thing, ie. gold leaf hammering in one section on Mandalay (for the entire country); silk weaving; lacquer work; pottery, engine repair, and on it goes. I can’t quite get a grasp on how it is all distributed throughout the country, as everything seems very haphazard, but obviously it works in some fashion.

Monywa is a pleasing Burmese town situated on the eastern banks of the Chindwin River. Our hotel, of which I had low expectations, turned out to be lovely. We had a little chalet overlooking a serene lake and the grounds were immaculate.

On the way to Monywa we stopped at Thanboddhay Pagoda, an enormous Buddhist temple that is covered with more than 500,000 images of Buddha.

We also stopped at a site that is building several new buddhas, one of which is already completed, a standing buddha of 135 meters! We viewed these huge buddhas, situated on a hillside, from a tower. What impressed me the most, were the hundreds?? maybe thousands of buddhas with umbrellas surrounding the area.

In the heat of the afternoon we crossed  the Chindwin River on a very dilapidated boat to visit Po Win Taung. I have to say, I could have easily passed up on this particular excursion! We were to drive to the caves by jeep!!! No thanks! a 45-minute drive, but luckily there was a car available. We drove to a couple of hills/mountains that  contain what is considered to be the best gathering of mural paintings and Buddhist statues in Southeast Asia.

We left Monywa and drove country roads with a couple of stops in some small villages for photo ops! Ending up in the riverside market town of Pakkoku where we had lunch in a very Burmese restaurant and then boarded our boat for for a relaxed, two-hour journey downriver (Ayeyarwaddy) to Bagan.

On the way we stopped at the 12th c. Kyauk Gu U Min temple with stone carvings depicting religious figures and flowers. The temple itself is built into the side of cliff and behind the main hall of the temple is access to a cave. Legend has it that the cave was built during the 13th century for the locals to hide from the invading Mongols.

We arrived to the beautiful silhouetted skyline of Old Bagan.

The city comes alive early – there is a mosque nearby, so we hear the call of the Mullah, dogs barking, horns peeping and by the time I look out of the window, there are people crouching behind a variety of vegetables all along the street. At some point during the day they disappear and are replaced by street food sellers ready for the night market.

We started out the day with a visit to Kyauktawghi Pagoda, known as the pagoda of the Great Marble Image. The huge Buddha is carved from a single block of marble. It is said to have taken 13 days for 10,000 men to move it from the river into place (a short distance away). The interior is decorated with beautiful mirror mosaics.

Kuthodaw Pagoda, known as “The World’s Biggest Book” for its collection of 729 marble slabs inscribed with Buddhist teachings.

How could you resist buying a bunch of (offering) lotus from this precious little thing? Also the beautiful young couple posing for their pre-wedding photos.

Next stop the Shwendandaw Monastery, the Golden Monastery, that once stood in the grounds of the Royal Palace of the 19th century. The structure carved from teak is impressive and the interior has 80 or so tall teak columns and beautifully carved ceilings covered in gold leaf.

Our final stop was a visit to the Royal Palace grounds, now used by the military. Replicas of the former palace buildings have been constructed and give insight into the history and a good idea of the life of royalty back in the 1800’s here in Myanmar.

Thanaka:  Is the name of the wood that is used for the facial paste seen all the time. It is considered both a form of make-up and also for sun protection, as well as considered to be good for the skin. The paste is made by rubbing the bark of the thanaka log on a wet stone. Sometimes it is just smeared on the cheeks and neck, other times a design is created. I had mine done outside the pagoda by one of the lotus flower selling ladies – in the design of a lotus leaf.

Mandalay

by Rudyard Kipling

By the old Moulmein Pagoda, lookin’ lazy at the sea,
There’s a Burma girl a-settin’, and I know she thinks o’ me;
For the wind is in the palm-trees, and the temple-bells they say:
“Come you back, you British soldier; come you back to Mandalay!”
Come you back to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla lay:
Can’t you ‘ear their paddles chunkin’ from Rangoon to Mandalay?
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin’-fishes play,
An’ the dawn comes up like thunder outer China ‘crost the Bay!

‘Er petticoat was yaller an’ ‘er little cap was green,
An’ ‘er name was Supi-yaw-lat — jes’ the same as Thebaw’s Queen,
An’ I seed her first a-smokin’ of a whackin’ white cheroot,
An’ a-wastin’ Christian kisses on an ‘eathen idol’s foot:
Bloomin’ idol made o’ mud —
Wot they call the Great Gawd Budd —
Plucky lot she cared for idols when I kissed ‘er where she stud!
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin’-fishes play,
An’ the dawn comes up like thunder outer China ‘crost the Bay!

When the mist was on the rice-fields an’ the sun was droppin’ slow,
She’d git ‘er little banjo an’ she’d sing “Kulla-lo-lo!”
With ‘er arm upon my shoulder an’ ‘er cheek agin my cheek
We useter watch the steamers an’ the hathis pilin’ teak.
Elephints a-pilin’ teak
In the sludgy, squdgy creek,
Where the silense ‘ung that ‘eavy you was ‘arf afraid to speak!
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin’-fishes play,
An’ the dawn comes up like thunder outer China ‘crost the Bay!

But that’s all shove be’ind me — long ago an’ fur away,
An’ there ain’t no ‘buses runnin’ from the Bank to Mandalay;
An’ I’m learnin’ ‘ere in London what the ten-year soldier tells:
“If you’ve ‘eard the East a-callin’, you won’t never ‘eed naught else.”
No! you won’t ‘eed nothin’ else
But them spicy garlic smells,
An’ the sunshine an’ the palm-trees an’ the tinkly temple-bells;
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin’-fishes play,
An’ the dawn comes up like thunder outer China ‘crost the Bay!

I am sick o’ wastin’ leather on these gritty pavin’-stones,
An’ the blasted English drizzle wakes the fever in my bones;
Tho’ I walks with fifty ‘ousemaids outer Chelsea to the Strand,
An’ they talks a lot o’ lovin’, but wot do they understand?
Beefy face an’ grubby ‘and —
Law! wot do they understand?
I’ve a neater, sweeter maiden in a cleaner, greener land!
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin’-fishes play,
An’ the dawn comes up like thunder outer China ‘crost the Bay!

Ship me somewheres east of Suez, where the best is like the worst,
Where there aren’t no Ten Commandments an’ a man can raise a thirst;
For the temple-bells are callin’, an’ it’s there that I would be —
By the old Moulmein Pagoda, looking lazy at the sea;
On the road to Mandalay,
Where the old Flotilla lay,
With our sick beneath the awnings when we went to Mandalay!
O the road to Mandalay,
Where the flyin’-fishes play,
An’ the dawn comes up like thunder outer China ‘crost the Bay!